Prince is not a racist - soldier

The Pakistani soldier at the centre of the Prince Harry race row has come to the Prince's defence, claiming he is not racist.

Platoon member Ahmed Raza Khan reportedly told Harry to "forget about it" when the Prince phoned to apologise.

Harry was caught on film three years ago referring to Khan as "our little Paki friend".

But Khan told The Sun the Prince was his friend and that he had no hard feelings towards him in the wake of the incident.

He said: "The Prince called me by a nickname which is usually very insulting but I know he didn't mean it that way," the newspaper reported. "We were close friends when we were training and I know he is not a racist."

The two soldiers were said to have exchanged stories with each other about fighting the Taliban when Harry rang Khan to apologise.

The Ministry of Defence said the Chief of the General Staff had directed the Royal Military Police to investigate how the material entered the public domain.

A spokeswoman said: "If that investigation reveals any other breach, that will be investigated." She added that the Adjutant General was writing to the army to remind them of their policy on equality and diversity.

Palace officials have said the 24-year-old Prince was "extremely sorry" for the comment and stressed that Harry had been speaking to a friend without malice.

The video footage was made while the Prince was a cadet at Sandhurst and released by the News of the World newspaper last weekend.